In the Bleak Midwinter
by Astrid16
Summary: Never did this homeless child expect to find what he needed in the form of a young, dying girl with a gift for the world on this bleak Christmas Eve. *Cover image is not mine*


**I'm not really all that happy with how this turned out. I feel like I botched it and gave the wrong message at the end, but...I'm an author. I'm probably going to think that no matter what.**

**This really has nothing to do with Ninjago, but I guess if I make it into an AU and call the children Jay and Nya, you won't get mad? Heh. I posted this on Wattpad, but I've got less than ten views (_views_, not _re_views) on it. So here it is, in a place where people will actually be able to find and read it. **

**I found the image on Favim, I don't own it.**

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><p><em>In the Bleak Midwinter<em>  
><em>A Ninjago AU by Astrid16<em>

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><p>A young boy wandered down the streets of his hometown on Christmas Eve. Snow fell around him, thick and cold against the bleak, lonely blackness of the streets, the air, the sky.<p>

A man passed him by, eyes on a sputtering lantern. He pulled an Orb out of his pocket and tapped the glass with it, fueling the flame.

That was probably his job, the young boy mused. Lighting lanterns around the city when they started to falter. A boring, tedious job, but better than the Heat Orb that the young boy had been born with. At least a Fire Orb could help keep bread on the table.

The boy closed his hand around the Orb in his tattered coat pocket and continued walking. Where he was going, or where he would stop for the night, he did not know or care. He had no family, nowhere to be, no reason to celebrate this silly holiday.

The hour grew late, and the boy glanced into a baker's shop. An elderly woman stood with her back to the window, kneading tomorrow's bread as music played from her Orb. The boy had never heard this tune before, but that hardly surprised him. The Music Orbs were good at improvising; at sensing their master's mood and humming along with it. Right now, the tune was bubbling with happiness.

Feeling a sharp pang in his heart, the boy turned away and crossed the empty street. His father had been born with a Music Orb. A memory he wanted hidden in deep darkness.

The shops on the other side of the road gave him no reprieve from his melancholy. Children played around a Christmas tree inside one house, shouting with glee as their father chased them with a growling teddy bear.

The boy wiped his runny nose on his already grimy sleeve and turned down a new street. Perhaps he would wander all night long instead of finding a littered alley to sleep in. He didn't feel tired. Not yet, anyways.

The snow was falling with less momentum now, as if the clouds were weary of hanging over this lethargic town. They were ready to move on, see newer and more exciting places. Good. If they left, the boy would be able to see the moon. Things wouldn't be as dark then.

He pulled the Heat Orb out of his pocket and inspected it with the detachedness of a person watching ivy grow on an old brick wall. It was a dreary orange-yellow color, like a wilted dandelion, and see-through like colored glass.

Orbs were so much more than just glass, though. They were magical, born into the world with their masters, then turning to dust when they died. Some were incredibly helpful, like the Fire Orb or the Strength Orb. But others, like his, were utterly useless.

A fact already established, but he didn't care. He hated his Orb. He hated how worthless it was. Sure, it kept him warm, but the same could be said for an Orb that helped produce money to buy a home.

Sudden anger overtook him- likely an effect of his starvation- and he threw the Orb as hard as he could. He'd rather die of cold than continue living this life of misery.

The Orb bounced across the street with a few soft _p__links_ and rolled into a dark alleyway. Good riddance, he thought as he turned to leave, body overcome by shivers.

Cold. A feeling he had never experienced in his life. He tucked his arms close and walked in place, breath hot against his chapped lips.

Maybe that had been a bad idea. He walked briskly to the other side of the street and followed the shallow, snowy imprints to where his Orb lay. He hastily picked it up, then breathed a soft sigh of relief as the familiar warmth nestled into his bones.

He heard a soft cough, and he looked down the narrow way between the two buildings. A dim light in the snow a few paces ahead. He plodded toward the object of his curiosity, then stopped.

It was a little girl, about his age with black hair that seemed dreadfully out of place among so much white. She lay wrapped in a pile of rags, trembling and coughing pitifully. In her gloved hands she clutched an Orb that glowed with a weak, stammering light. It was dying, as was she.

The boy sat in the snow and tapped her shoulder.

She raised her head lethargically and blinked at him.

Then, she held up her Orb, and the ground around them lit up around them. It was...pretty. It was comforting. It was friendly.

The boy took her other hand, blue from the cold, and set his Orb in it. As long as his fingers still touched at least some part of it, he could generate heat for both of them.

The little girl stared at their clasped hands in disbelief for a moment, then relaxed. Her skin returned to a normal beige color and her shivering stopped. She was still coughing, though. It was a pity that his Orb didn't have one of those healing talents.

He scooted close and wrapped his arms around her. With each choking cough she made into his shirt, her Orb grew a little dimmer. She closed her eyes and let her hands fall to her lap, breathing as deeply as she could manage with her awful illness.

They stayed like that for a long time, huddled in each other's arms, sharing their Light and Heat. The young boy didn't know why he stayed with the little girl, or even how he had found her in such a large, lonely city. Perhaps it had been his Orb.

Eventually, they fell asleep. And at length, the sun peeked over the rooftops, causing the snow to sparkle merrily. The streets, which had been abandoned last night, bustled with activity and laughter. People were shouting 'Merry Christmas' to their companions, or even to strangers as they went about their daily business.

The young boy's eyes opened, and he looked at the scene with a mixture of wonder and distaste. The people and Orbs singing Christmas carols together, not a care in the world. Oblivious. Naive.

Looking down at their intertwined hands- and and the dust of what was once her Orb- he finally understood. Christmas wasn't about family or happiness.

No, it was about _sharing_. Giving everything one had to make another person's life better, even if only just for a few hours as they prepared to depart this world.

Sharing brings joy. Real joy, more potent and wonderful than shallow happiness. Joy that lasted beyond even the grave.

The girl was gone, and she had taken her Light with her.

But not all of it, the boy realized. He looked at his Heat Orb and smiled. She had left him with hope. With a little seed of her joy.

He covered her body with the ragged blankets, then ran out of the alley.

It was time to share with the world what he had learned from this sweet, wonderful girl that was now laughing in Jesus' arms.

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><p>What can I give Him, poor as I am?<br>If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb  
>If I were a Wise Man, I would do my part<br>Yet what I can I give Him: give my heart.

-In the Bleak Midwinter

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><p><strong>Yep. I brought religion into this. I have no shame. Christmas is a religious holiday, after all. <strong>

**I don't own the lyrics. Actually, I don't think anyone does. They're public domain. :3**

**So...did you like it? I have mixed feelings. **

**Please review! It ****would be the greatest Christmas present you could give me- and it's free! That's always a plus. **

**Merry Christmas, God bless! **


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